The Babe With The Power
by EnnaArik
Summary: Avery is plagued by nightmares, ones she doesn't understand. She starts to see things, they feel almost like memories, but of things she doesn't remember. As she struggles to find meaning behind these odd occurrences in her life it would seem her older siblings, Sarah and Toby, can shed some insight into what's happening to her.
1. Chapter One

**Just a quick note before we begin;**

**Avery, the youngest sister of Sarah, is 20. The year now is 2013, Avery was born in 1992; six years after Sarah's adventures in "The Labyrinth". Currently, Sarah is 41 and their brother Toby is 27.**

**I did some research before writing to find out the majority of the beginning of the movie was filmed in Nyack, New York, which is where this story will take place as their home town.**

**Now, let's get to the fun part.**

My heart is about to beat right out of my chest. I can hardly catch my breath as I run as fast as I can down the narrow brick corridor. I almost trip over my dress, I'm running so fast. I look behind me and see the barn owl flying faster towards me; I don't know why I'm so afraid of it, I just know I am. Then I fall, down a dark hole but I land, perfectly fine, on my feet in a room of stairs. There's no more owl. Just bubbles. I get dizzy, I feel my chest tighten, I can't breathe, then….

I wake up.

Like every other night in my twenty years of existence I'm plagued by the same odd dream. I can never remember it once I wake up, and I find myself just staring up at the ceiling trying to remember if it was a nightmare or not. The owl, I remember for some reason. I sat up and wiped the cold sweat from my brow and looked at the clock on my nightstand; it's three in the morning.

This occurrence was common but never as bad as the occasions of my visits home. I attended AMDA in New York City, a performing arts school, as a Dance Theatre major. Every other weekend I traveled home to Nyack, New York. This weekend, however, was a rare one as not only myself but both my older siblings would be coming home as well for the occasion of our Father's sixty seventh birthday. It felt odd to think, but something about this trip home seemed worse, dream wise, then ever before. I tried not to think about it.

When I did finally wake up, for the second time, it was around six a.m. I wasn't very good at sleeping in, a habit I picked up from school since most my classes were in the bright and early morning. Both my mother and father were still asleep, so I decided I'd go out for a quick run. I tied up the length of my ridiculously curly maroon dyed hair (I thought the color suited my more naturally fair skin and bright fern green eyes) and tightened my favorite running shoes before I quietly snuck out of the house.

Nyack was a peaceful little village in New York to go for a calming morning run. It was that time of year in-between winter and spring, when it was still a little chilly outside and there was a thin fog as the sun broke out across the sky. I didn't use my iPod when I ran here, not like I did in the city, I preferred to just…listen to the world instead. It was refreshing, really. I ran about three miles out, when I started to feel a little lightheaded. I could hear my heart beating fast in my chest, but not because of my increased heart rate…more like…something was about to happen. Just as I got to the park, I heard a sort of squawk, just before I tripped and tumbled down onto the ground.

I could feel the blood on my knees and on my hands as I caught my fall the best I could. I caught my breath, and looked up to the nearest tree to see a barn owl staring through the soft light of morning at me. I didn't know why, but in that moment I felt terrified. I stood slowly, the owl remained perfectly still. I was afraid to run, I was afraid it would chase me, like in my dreams. So I just stood there, like an idiot, blood on my knees, in a staring contest with a damn bird. Finally, it flew away. It didn't take me much longer after that to turn around and head back home.

By the time I got back, I saw my brother's Toyota truck in the driveway, and Toby himself pulling his suitcase from the back. His shaggy dirty blonde hair was sticking out and in all sorts of directions and his ugly rectangle wired framed glasses falling off the length of his rather narrow nose; he had obviously just woken up not too long ago. "About time!" I shouted to him as I ran from down the street to the house. He turned to me, grinning like an idiot as he held his arms out to catch me in a hug when I finally reached him. "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too Avery." He laughed in my ear before letting me go. "Who goes running without being chased?"

"People who want to survive the zombie apocalypse." I joked.

"What happened to your knees?"

"Ninjas." We both laughed before heading inside, where mom and dad were both up with cups of coffee glued to their hands.

"We thought we heard you pulling into the driveway." Dad said as he came over to hug Toby.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Mom asked me as she looked down at my knees.

I knew saying "ninjas" to my mother wouldn't grant me the same response as Toby's, so I went with the more realistic answer, "I fell on my run."

"Can't remember the last time I saw a ballerina with scrapped knees."

"Oh, they exist." I reassured her with a smile. Technically, I wasn't even a ballerina, it wasn't the only style of dance I was training in, but it's the one she was fond of the most. In her mind I was the next "Black Swan"…minus the mental instability and border line suicide at the end. "I'm gonna' go shower, let me know when Sarah gets here." I kissed my mother on the cheek and left them alone to play catch-up with Toby while I went to clean myself up.

There was almost no greater joy in this world than a hot shower. At school, the water barely stayed hot enough for my standards more than five minutes; and what girl on this earth can properly bathe in just five minutes? I let the water beat down on me, just standing there for a moment and enjoying the heat as it wrapped around me like a blanket. I stood with my back to the shower head, letting the water run down my back and soak my hair, and I closed my eyes as the water started to run down my face a bit. There was no noise other that the water beating down against the empty tub. It was peaceful.

But then something happened; something odd. As I stood there with my eyes close I started to see things. I had never seen these things before in my life, yet there they were so vivid in my mind. Large stone wall, dead grass, odd looking creatures, and a man. A tall man with white blonde hair and striking eyes that almost scared me half way to death. Then I saw the owl, and then I saw myself running through the woods. It was my dream. My head was pounding, heart was racing. I opened my eyes and there it was- the owl. In my shower.

I screamed and my first instinct was to back up away from it as it just fluttered in my showered. The moment I tried to move I slipped and fell backwards, and hit my head on the tub foist. The second I hit my head, the owl was gone as if it had never even been there. "Avery?" A voice screamed at me from the bathroom door. It wasn't mother, it was Sarah. "Avery, I'm coming in!" I heard her feet rushing into the bathroom and she drew back the shower curtain.

My sister never seemed to age, I thought that as I looked up at her for the first time in a while. She still looked like she was in her early thirties, if that really. The small hints of grey roots fighting her brown hair dye gave a little age away. Her eyes had lost their shine, but her skin was still so young looking with barely a wrinkle in sight. I always thought my sister had such simplicity to her beauty, never needing makeup because naturally she was so well kept. "Oh my god, Avery you're bleeding!" She kneeled down and pulled me up before turning off the water.

"Sarah, Avery, is everything ok? I heard shouting?" Mother called out to us as she came into the bathroom.

"Avery fell and hit her head, could you grab a towel?" Sarah asked as she helped me up onto my feet. Mother came around and her eyes glanced down at what I was sure to be a rather impressive little puddle of blood, being carried slowly down the drain from the water. Mother wrapped me in a towel and her and Sarah both assisted me out of the tub. I was dizzy and felt like at any given moment I would throw up.

Mother and Sarah patched up the cut on the back of my head then instructed me to lie down. Mother brought me some hot tea and an orange to get something in my stomach. Sarah stayed with me, even after mother left, and there was something about her expression that concerned me. Mother was worried and all but she knew I'd survive; yet Sarah was acting as if I was in a deadly car crash.

"What made you fall?" She finally asked, a question mother didn't even bother with.

"I was startled." I answered her with a soft breath.

"What startled you?"

"Nothing, really, I was just being paranoid."

"You've been having those nightmares again, haven't you?" I didn't answer her, just stared forward. "Avery, you told me you stopped having those nightmares years ago."

"It's not that big of a deal Sarah." I was short with her. I knew she didn't really care as much as she let on. Her acting like this was most likely just overcompensation. Sarah and I were never really close, after all by the time I was born she was already out of the house and moving on with her life. I grew up mostly with Toby, until he graduated and went off the college that is. Still, I was closer with my brother than with her, and she knew that.

"I'm just trying to help Avery." Sarah sort of snapped back at me.

"I don't need any help." I snorted, looking away from her.

"You're impossible." She offered me that one last comment before she left.

It wasn't a true family gathering unless there was some sort of tension between my older sister ad myself. We rarely ever saw eye-to-eye, I blamed the age gap r that mostly. Still, that didn't seem to explain why she always seemed so distance, withdrawn, from me. It was like she was avoiding me on purpose, but I couldn't recall ever doing anything to earn such treatment from her. Toby used to always tell me she was just a bothered woman, always with something on her shoulders and no time for any extra worries. Was I an extra worry? Her own sister; an impossible one, apparently.


	2. Chapter Two

In all honestly, I didn't look like I belonged in this family. I could almost understand why I didn't look like Sarah; different mothers and all. But I didn't bare any resemblance to Toby or our mother. There was no denying Sarah and Toby belonged to this family, but I just came completely out of left field. This was a thought that always crossed my mind when we were all together, how little I looked like them. Toby had mother's nose and father's shoulders. Sarah had father's cheekbones. What did I have; nothing.

My nose was more round; my lips more full and defined. My eyes were far more wide than any of theirs, and my eyelashes were naturally so thick and long. My jaw was a tad wider and my cheeks a little more full. I was by far the shortest of them, too short for my young age to even be an explanation any more. It would seem the only similarity between myself and my siblings was that we all managed to have the same shade of fern green eyes, like our father.

We went out to dinner for father's birthday and I was certain that if everyone in this town didn't know our family so well they'd assume I was adopted. Father was something of a celebrity in this small area as one of the most successful contractors in town. If you needed a building for your business, whether it is small time or a franchise, his company could build it. Mother was also well known as a former Broadway golden girl. Well, golden girl might not have been the proper term for it; she had one starring role ages ago, other than that she mostly had smaller roles before turning to the life of a director. She ran the local theatre here in Nyack now. It was obvious my siblings and I all got our love from the stage from our mother.

Sarah had pursued an acting career and had made a fairly suitable name for herself before she turned to the life of a teacher, installing a love for theater in the minds of young students at rather popular performing arts school half way across the country. Toby's talents was more in writing and directing, and his works were rather popular out in Austin where he based his career. Father didn't entirely understand why we'd all pursue such "wishy washy" careers, as he called them. The kind of lives that could end at any given moment. He didn't believe in passion.

Still, at dinner he pretended to care as he listened to us all raving about our lives and such. Sarah told stories about her students forgetting the lines during their big performances in class. Toby gave us hints about his latest screenplay he planned to start casting for within the next few months. I boosted about my grades at school and how I would headline the spring recital. Mother glowed with pride; we were her legacy.

The small local steakhouse father insisted we go for his celebration gifted the table one of their best glasses of wine. They all shared while I sipped my water in silence and envy at their legal drinking ages. As we all toasted to father, the large clock that hung in the restaurant dining room began to chime out at nine. I saw Sarah jump a bit in her seat and I couldn't help but follow her stare to the clock. It was odd but for a moment as I looked at it, it almost looked like it had thirteen numbers on it instead of just twelve. I looked back to Sarah who now was looking at me with such a blank expression it almost concerned me.

As we were leaving a few men my father had worked with stopped us to wish him a happy birthday. We stood outside as he exchanged pleasantries with the men; all bundled up to keep warm and wishing he'd hurry up so we could retreat to the warmth of the car. I heard something that caught my attention, an owl's hoot. I turned to look for it, but couldn't anything in the darkened night sky. "Avery, you alright?" Toby asked me after he noticed me searching the darkness for something unknown.

"Yeah…" I commented flatly, looking back to my family and noticing Sarah once more staring at me with her blank expression I couldn't understand.

It was always somewhat of a tradition for my siblings and myself to stay up late on our first night home. We would light up the fireplace in the den, drink hot chocolate, and share stories of the latest adventures in our lives. Sarah always went first:

"I was out at a local theatre production a few weeks ago, they were doing some avant garde style of Shakespeare Twelfth Night. They modernized the dialogue, of course because no one wants to see original Shakespeare anymore. The stage was completely bare, not so much as one chair the entire play. The costumes were all rather outrageous, but not historical accurate to the time period. It honestly looked like they put Lady Gaga in charge of the wardrobe, and you know what? At the after party, the director said that was her inspiration. Lady Gaga was her inspiration for a Shakespeare play. Can you believe that? She correlated the timeless accuracy of Shakespeare to a woman who hides behind outlandish outfits and unacceptable behavior to make up for her true lack of talent. You'd think Shakespeare would be all the inspiration you need to truly pull of a Shakespeare production. Honestly, I was heartbroken at the concept that his work wasn't enough anymore to bring success to a play; that you need someone like Lady Gaga to really catch someone's attention. Really, what is the world of theatre coming to these days?"

Toby always followed Sarah:

"My friends and are were all at this private event to promote another friend's new art show. My friend Joanna's little sister was in town so naturally she brought her sister with her. Her sister, Jill, had just turned nineteen. Now, I guess whoever was hosting the event just assumed everyone in attendance was at least over the age of twenty one because they just left the wine out for anybody to help themselves to. Jill was avoiding it until finally Joanna and myself convinced her to just try some. After a while some colleagues and I decided the event was really losing its momentum and wanted to go down to the W Lounge about a block away. We invited Joanna and Jill, but the lounge is only twenty one and up so we devised a plan to sneak Jill in. Luckily there was another in our group, Addison, who bore a rather awkward resemblance to Jill so we figured after Addison went into the lounge, we'd have someone come out to smoke a cigarette and give Jill Addison's id. We thought it was a brilliant plan but I could tell Jill was nervous about getting caught. Well, we get there and no one was even carding at the door. We sit down and all put in our drink orders and Jill just asks for a water. We urged her to order something different because it looked suspicious that she was the only one with water. Joanna ordered her sister some mixed drink that Jill never took so much as one sip from. I was impressed by her, and actually disappointed in myself for trying to encourage this nineteen year old girl to drink. About an hour later Jill came to me, Joanna was drunk and Jill was too unfamiliar with the city to get back to their car, much less drive back to Joanna's apartment, so I took them both home with me. Tonight was the first time I've had any sort of alcohol since then."

I debated for a while what I should share with them. What story would fit. Should I talk about school, and how well I was excelling? I had already done that at dinner. One of the parties I attended with my classmates? Too boring to tell, really. My summer plans to go to Vegas with a few friends? Nothing much to tell there. I looked up at Sarah as the flames from the fireplace dimly lit her face to my eyes. Something about the way she was looking at me, had been looking at me all night in fact, made me want to talk about my nightmares.

"I don't know what they're supposed to mean, my nightmares. They're the only thing I've only dreamt of as long as I can remember. The only thing that ever seems to change is me, I get older in the dreams. I remember a little at a time, but mostly the owl. I thought I would have stopped having them, like you two said you did when you had similar nightmares, but I haven't. They didn't use to happen every night, but recently they have. I sleep just fine after I wake up in the middle of the night, so it's not like I need to see a doctor for any sort of sleeping problem. And I don't feel like I need to go talk to any professional about it. Still, I wish I knew why I was having these nightmares. It feels weird to call them that really, nightmares, it's not like I'm being chased by some sort of homicidal monster. Still, I always wake up feeling frightened, like it really was a monster, but it's not. It's just an owl, it's always been that owl."


	3. Chapter Three

My heart is about to beat right out of my chest. I can hardly catch my breath as I run as fast as I can down the narrow brick corridor. I almost trip over my dress, I'm running so fast. I look behind me and see the barn owl flying faster towards me; I don't know why I'm so afraid of it, I just know I am. Then I fall, down a dark hole but I land, perfectly fine, on my feet in a room of stairs. There's no more owl. Just bubbles. I get dizzy, I feel my chest tighten, I can't breathe, then….

I wake up.

But I don't wake up. Not this time. I'm still in the dream, in the nightmare.

I see a man. He's tall, taller than me I could tell even from the distance. He has white blonde hair, striking eyes, and he's dressed in blue. That's when I noticed my dressed changed. It's much more extravagant now, like some white ball gown. There's a clock, with thirteen numbers instead of twelve, chiming behind then man. A bubble floats in front of my face and pops. Then I'm not in the room of stars anymore. I'm in some sort of dining room, decorated for some kind of party. There's no one here, but I see the clock. It's still chiming. I' not afraid anymore. There's a mirror by the clock and I don't why I walk over to it, but I do.

I don't see my own reflection. I see Sarah. But she's not herself. She's younger, much younger. Then I see him, standing behind me in the reflection. I turn, but he's not there.

Now I wake up.

I'm covered in sweat, but I'm not hot. I sit up and notice all the blankets on the floor; I must have thrown them off me in my sleep. I've never done that before. My window is opened, just a crack, and there's a cool breeze drifting into the room. I don't know why but it scares me for some reason and I jump up as quickly as I can to shut and lock the window back.

There's a knock at my door and they don't wait for me to open it before they come in; it's Toby. "Are you alright? I heard you moving around it like you were running a marathon or something."

"My window was opened." I explained as I picked my blankets up off the floor.

"You had the nightmare again?"

"Yeah." I found myself thinking back to just a few hours earlier, how after I shared my nightmares with my siblings Sarah left the room without a single word. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't." Toby insisted firmly. "I don't know why they didn't stop for you like they did for me and Sarah but…All I know is, if I had just one more of those nightmares, they would have ruined me. I don't know how you can stand them, how they don't seem to affect you, but I promise you one day they will. You can't keep pretending like its fine Avery, like they don't bother you because the one you bottle it up they worse it's going to be."

I sat down on the edge of my bed, Toby sat next to me. I didn't look at him, just kept my eyes on my own feet. "It was different this time. Longer." I started to explain, "It didn't end like it usually does. I saw Sarah too, only…I was Sarah." I looked up at him and there was something about his expression that worried me. It was like he knew what was happening in the nightmare without me really needing to tell him. "Toby?"

"What else did you see?"

"A clock."

"And?"

"A man."

"Did he say anything?"

"No. Why?"

Toby didn't say anything a first, he just took my hands and sighed softly. "Promise me when you go back to the city, you'll see a doctor?" I had a feeling that he knew that wouldn't help.

I didn't wake up again until almost ten. A rare oddity for me indeed. By the time I dressed myself and went downstairs, Mother was already making lunch. "Well good morning sleepy head." She greeted my warmly. "Your brother left you a note, he felt terrible that he had to leave without goodbye but you slept in so late and he had to get on the road. I don't know why he doesn't just fly, he'd save so much travel time." She gestured to the paper on the table as she went about her cooking.

I was almost afraid to read it, I wasn't sure why I was afraid, I just knew I was. Still, I picked it up and read it: "Avery, I'm sorry." That's all it said. Not what he was sorry for, just that he was. I couldn't help but feel confused.

"Good to see you're finally up." Sarah said to me as she came into the kitchen. She was wearing an old pair of jeans, her hair up in a sloppy bun, all sure signs she had been out in the garden helping father get all his flowers ready for fall.

"Good to see you're still here." I crumbled Toby's note up into a ball and tossed it in the trash, Sarah didn't really seem to notice.

"I have a late flight out." Sarah informed me.

"Sarah agreed to help us with some of the fall cleaning." Mother said, sounding chipper to have the extra help. Most people just did spring cleaning, mother found every new season to be an occasion to clean.

"After lunch I figured I' tackle the closet in my old room. Dad said there's so much clutter in there he's afraid to open the door." Sarah said as she grabbed a bottle of the water from the fridge. Sarah's old room was now dad's office since he primarily worked from home these days. Growing up I had always wanted Sarah's old room, but when dad laid claim to it I knew all hope was lost.

"Sounds like you're going to need some back up." I suggested as I sat with her at the small breakfast nook table in the kitchen.

"That would make my life a little easier."

After we ate Sarah and I bravely ventured into dad's office to start cleaning out the closet. We started sorting things into several piles; stays in dad's office, attic, and trash. A lot of the stuff was actually Sarah's, things she never took with her or stored in the attic before she left. Most of it she sorted into the trash pile without a second thought.

"So when do you think is the next time you'll come back into town?" I tried to make small talk as she finished sorting the last few things from the closet.

"Christmas, most likely." She answered as she handed me a heavy box. "I'll probably stay till New Years."

"I plan on heading back before New Years. I've never actually been in the city for New Years, I'd like to finally experience it." After I said that Sarah looked at me with this face, almost as if she felt sorry for me.

"Things don't always work out the way we want." She said this with a sort of grim tone in her voice, almost like she knew my plans wouldn't work out in the end.

I wasn't sure what to say to her. "Why don't you start taking some of these things up to the attic." She broke the silence, "Start with this box." She pulled a good sized box from the closet, it was labeled, "Sarah". I took it without question and she gave me this look like there was something important in there. I assumed there had to be, since most her old stuff was in the trash pile. I found myself curious about the contents of this box as I took it out into the hall and pulled down the attic stairs.

The attic was dusty, but I assumed most attics were. There was a small stack of boxes in the corner, all labeled "Sarah" where I assumed this box would fit right in. I navigated the rather overstocked attic to the corner where the rest of Sarah's old belongings were. I sat it down and for some reason unknown to me I had the most curious urge to open this box. It wasn't taped shut or anything like that, so I just bent opened the cardboard flaps to explore the contents of this seemingly special box.

It was the dress. The one from my nightmare. Not the ball gown from last night, but the one I'm always wearing when I'm running away from the owl. I took it out carefully, looking over every familiar detail before I noticed there was more under it. First, a strange crown with ribbons hanging from it. Next, a tube of red lipstick and a little stuffed bear. Then a glass figurine of a woman wearing a white ball gown like from my nightmare last night. When I picked it up it started to twirl and play music; an unfamiliar tune. I set aside, the music was still playing, and looked in the box for the last item. It was a book.


	4. Chapter Four

The book was small, with a dark brown almost leather feeling cover. It had gold lettering across the front cover that read, "The Labyrinth." I let my fingers run across the book, across the letters. It felt so familiar to me. There was a ribbon bookmark hanging from it, near the end of the book from the looks of it. My fingers ran across the stacked pages, to the bookmark to pull it open, my eyes fixated on it.

"Avery?" Sarah's voice shouting out at me startled me and I dropped the book back into the box. I had been sitting on my knees while I went through the contents of the box, and as Sarah called me I turned around so quick to stand that I accidently knocked the music playing figurine down. "Avery?" I heard her voice again, more frantic now. "What was that noise?"

"Nothing, I'm coming back down." I kneeled back down and carefully returned the contents to the box, and was overjoyed after inspecting the figurine that I had not broken it. I scurried back down the attic ladder; Sarah was waiting for me in the hall with another box to take up. Her eyes watched me curiously, she knew something was off but didn't ask me any more questions.

After we finished a majority of mother's fall cleaning list I helped Sarah pack her bags into her rental car. She seemed a bit off, more so than usual ever since the whole attic thing. I watched as mother and father took their turns hugging her goodbye on the porch while I shoved her last bag into the trunk. She met me at the car, fumbling awkwardly with her keys so I would know not to take too long with the goodbye. She hugged me, quick unlike with our parents. She avoided looking me in the eye for a bit, until she did. Something about that eye contact struck me. Something about this look made me feel uneasy, like somehow she knew she was never going to see me again. She put a hand on my shoulder, and with an almost teary eye gaze said to me, "I'm sorry." She didn't waste any time after that, getting in her car and leaving me there with my confusion in the driveway.

I'm sorry. Sorry for what? Her and Toby both seemed sorry for something, but for what? Was it the same thing they both were sorry for? I didn't know; I doubted I ever would.

I went to bed that night rather early and feeling a bit uneasy. I didn't fall asleep as quickly as usual because I just knew I'd have more nightmares. I had this odd feeling, a feeling I was being watched. I knew there was no way I was, yet still…

My heart is about to beat right out of my chest. I can hardly catch my breath as I run as fast as I can down the narrow brick corridor. I almost trip over my dress, I'm running so fast. I look behind me and see the barn owl flying faster towards me; I don't know why I'm so afraid of it, I just know I am. Then I fall, down a dark hole but I land, perfectly fine, on my feet in a room of stairs. There's no more owl. Just bubbles. I get dizzy, I feel my chest tighten, I can't breathe, then….

I wake up.

I fell right out of the bed, the blankets wrapped around my body as I hit the hard floor. Everything looked blurry, the room was spinning. This has never happened before, I had never been like this after a nightmare. I tried to stand, but I could barely feel my legs. I got up and stumbled around, my head was pounding and I felt sick to my stomach. I eyes were watery and I realized then I had been crying.

Then something slammed into my window. It scared me and I screamed. I looked and saw a barn owl fluttering outside my window, the same owl as in my nightmares. It slammed its body against the window again. I watched it, flutter there and slamming its body back against the window. Yet I got the feeling it wasn't trying to get in…but that it wanted me to…follow it.

I put on the first pair of jeans I could get my hand on; my favorite pair of dark denim skinny jeans. I had been wearing a sports bra and cami top to sleep, but put on a grey cardigan before I dared go outside in the cold night. I grabbed my red Toms shoes as I went out my bedroom and slipped them on at the front door. I quietly opened the front door and slipped out into the darkness of the night.

The owl was perched on the porch rails, like it was waiting for me. It stared at me, I stared at it. It made a soft noise before it flew off. I ran after it, without question. This owl had been plaguing my nightmares for as long as I could remember. I wanted to know why and I had a feeling if I followed it I might get some kind of answer. It was difficult keeping up in a pair of Toms versus running shoes, but I didn't let that stop me. I could see something in its claw, something it was carrying. It was too big to be an animal, like a mouse or something of that nature.

I wasn't entirely paying attention where the owl was leading me, I was just focusing on keeping up. After a while, it was gone. I wasn't sure how, but it just suddenly vanished from my sights. I stopped dead in my tracks and that was when I noticed where I was. It was the park where I had seen the owl before on my run. Then in the darkness I saw the owl again, swoop down at me and drop something at my feet.

It was the book from the box of Sarah's old stuff. How the owl managed to get a hold of it, I was unsure. It was all rather bizarre really. I wondered if this was a nightmare too, a really convincing one. But none of my nightmares had ever been like this before. This was real, I was sure of it.

I picked up the book and saw the owl perched over on a bridge railing not too far away. I looked down at the book in my hands, at the ribbon bookmark that hung from its pages. My fingers grabbed the bookmark and carefully pulled it up to open the pages. My eyes searched the words on the pages, skimming over them quickly, but there was one paragraph that caught my attention. I wasn't sure why, but I felt the need to say it out loud, "My will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great." I heard the owl screech and I glanced up at it quickly before finishing the last line, "You have no power over me."

The owl screeched again and I looked up at it in time to see it taking off from its perch and flying at me. I didn't know why I just stood there instead of running, but I did, and the owl knocked right into me. The force knocked me down onto the ground, I hit my head pretty hard. I saw something in the corner of my eyes, and I turned my head to see what it was. Boots, someone was standing there, wearing a pair of boots. That was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

I woke up when I felt sunlight on my face. I opened my eyes and just from what little I could see of my blurred vision, I knew I wasn't home. I sat up and things were a little less blurry. I was still in the clothes I wore when I chased after the owl, shoes and all. I started to look around the room, stone walls and old paintings. No lights, but plenty of unlit candles. It was spacious and with little furniture to fill it. The bed I was on seemed old, and looked like it belonged in the medieval ages. I could hear voices, loud voices, which was when I noticed the opened window across the room. I was careful when I stood up from the bed, afraid I might fall. I went to the window, and looked out across the opened sky. It was so clear and blue, hardly any clouds in the sky, with such a warm breeze in the air. I could see something in the distance, large stone walls. I looked down from the window, far down where there seemed to be a village ripped from time; it looked like something you'd see in some historical documentary about the renaissance era. There were people down there but the closer I looked the more I realized they weren't people. They were creatures.

I backed away from the window, looking over the room again and sure I was stuck in some weird dream. That was when the door opened. A boy walked in, he looked about my age, if not younger. He had a braid of white blonde hair, and the eyes of the man from my nightmares. He wore a long sleeved tunic tucked into his pants with a black belt holding a sheathed sword on his hip. I looked at his boots, they were different from the ones I had seen last night, worn over the ends of his pants. He walked in, keeping his eyes fixed on me as he did. He raised his hand and as he did the door slammed shut behind him. "Lady Avery." He spoke to me as his hand flowered. "Good to see you up and about."

"Who are you?" I asked him as I stepped backwards towards the window. He creeped me out.

"My name is Jeevan. Everyone here calls me Eevan."

"And where is 'here', exactly? And how do you know my name?"

"I've known you my entire life, Lady Avery. And you've known here, your entire life." He said to me with such a monotone voice it made my skin crawl. He moved forward, passing me and I turned to watch him as he approached the window. I couldn't help but follow him over to the window, standing in front of him and watching his eyes as he looked out the window. "Lady Avery, this is the Goblin City."


	5. Chapter Five

It was like something out of a dream. The city, the castle, the goblins. It was like something out of my nightmare. Was this my nightmare? Was this what I been cursed with my entire life, seeing this city in my nightmares until one day I might actually come here? Or was this still a dream, a nightmare?

Eevan didn't talk much, but I could tell he was disappointed when I refused to wear the gown he had brought me. He led me through the castle in silence, holding lantern to guide us through the more dim corridors without windows. He hadn't told me where we were going, only that we needed to get there relatively soon. I didn't want to follow him, but it wasn't like there was a whole lot of other choices. He looked so familiar, like I had seen him before. He hadn't been the man from my nightmare, but something about him reminded me so much of that man.

"Lady Avery," He finally spoke to me, "I would advise you to look him in the eye, don't be afraid, even though he wants you to." He gave me this advice, and something about it made him feel so…human. Up until now I would have thought he was just another goblin, but now he seemed so normal. He seemed concerned and comforting, even if just for that brief moment before he opened the large doors we now stood in front of.

The room was large and round, with large windows. In the center circle shaped section lowered from the rest of the room, like a pit, in front of a large chair I could only assume was some sort of throne. Eevan walked in further and I followed after him, the doors slamming shut behind us. I turned a bit, trying to take in the entire sight of the room when I noticed we weren't alone. There was another, the man Eevan told me about no doubt, sitting on a window ledge, looking out at the Goblin City. Without even seeing his face I knew; he was the man from my nightmare.

He wore a cloak with the collar up around his face, I could only see his eye because of how he was sitting. His eye had dramatic make-up lining up his temple, and I could see his hue turning to look at me from the corner. "My King," Eevan spoke in the silence, "May I present to you, Lady Avery." I watched this man's movements carefully as he turned in his seated position to now face Eevan and myself. His white blonde hair fell long, and a few rebel strands down in front of his pale face. His eyes could have stabbed me right through the heart the way he was looking at me, his entire expression to match. I felt weak. He stood to his feet and began to move to close the gap between us. I did my best to do as Eevan had told me, to not be afraid.

"Lady Avery," The man spoke my name in such a rough voice, in such a calm voice. "You look nothing like your sister." He whispered, as if he was disappointed. His eyes moved to take Eevan into his sight and he nodded at Eevan simple, not speaking a single word. Eevan then left so quickly I almost wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been paying attention. Now I was alone, alone with this man who Eevan said I was supposed to be afraid of; and I was. His eyes were back on me and I just stood there frozen in my fear. I tried to seem ok, like I wasn't scared but I knew he could tell I was. He smiled at me, some strange smile like he could tell how I feeling and it made me cringe a bit. I saw him lift his hand, bringing it towards me and placing his cold palm up against my face. I was almost afraid to breathe as he let his fingertips trail down cheek, run along my jaw line, all while he kept his eyes on my own. "You will love me Avery. You will be happy here. You will have powers you could never have dreamed of, all as long as you love me. Do you understand me?"

I said nothing to him, but I had a feeling my silence instead of denial was answer enough for him. He moved his hand now, off my face and back to rest at his side. He sighed softly, looking down at his feet. He seemed hurt, yet even as he stood there so vulnerable and emotional something about him still struck me in a way that terrified me. "I trust you can find your way back to you room?" He asked me, now looking back up at me. I nodded, slightly confused by his question. "You're not a prisoner here Avery, this is your home now, and you may go about your life as you wish as long as you follow a few simple rules." He stepped closer me, I barely seemed to reach his shoulders. Again he said to me, "You will be happy here."

Just as swift as Eevan had gone, now this man had left. He hadn't even told me his name. I stayed there, in the round room for a while, looking at it in its entire bland and boring splendor. I thought back to Eevan, calling this man a king. King of what? The Goblin City? A man ruling over goblins? No, he wasn't a man; he was something far worse.

I retraced my steps from throne room back to the room I had woken in. I didn't know what to think at this point. A part of me still thought maybe I'd wake up at any moment, but another part of me knew this was real. I couldn't explain it, but somehow all of this was actually real. My reality I had been living for so long had been completely turned upside; my reality that goblins didn't exist and I was a simple girl from Nyack, New York. Now I wasn't and now goblins did exist. This was my new reality, and I was supposed to be happy with this.

I made it back to my "room". I looked out the window, it was starting to get dark out and I walked over to watch as the sun set on the city. I saw the sun disappear behind the large stone walls, I wondered how far they really went. I sat on the window ledge, watching as night consumed the sky and the stars came out to shine in the darkness. There was a certain calm over the city that earlier had been so busy and loud. It was peaceful now, and I could hear insects buzzing, seeing lightening bugs flickering, here crickets chirping. I hadn't even been paying attention to the fact that now my room was basically a black hole, and when I did finally turn away from the window I could barely see anything. I moved and tried to walk forward a bit, but slammed myself into a chair.

"Careful." I heard a voice say softly to me. Without seeing I knew it was Eevan. I saw a match light, and I could see the soft features of his face in the dim light as he lit a candle.

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough. I didn't want to disturb you, you looked so peaceful." He smiled softly in the soft light as he went around the room to light more candles for me. "You're scared of him?"

"Who wouldn't be?"

"I'm not."

"I imagined you're more used to him than I am."

"I was never really scared to begin with. Once you're afraid of something, or in this case someone, it's hard to ever really escape that fear." He shook the match, riding it of its flame before seating himself in the chair I had ran into. He sat very still, straight back and proper, with his hand folded elegantly in his lap. I sat myself on the bed, trying to mimic his posture but finding it far too uncomfortable. "By tomorrow you're new room should be ready for you. This simply won't do, not for you."

"How long have you been here?"

"As long as I can remember."

"Why am I here?"

"That's not my place to tell you."

"Who will?"

"Don't worry Lady Avery, everything will become clear to you soon enough. You just need to be patient."

"I have been. For twenty years I've lived my life with these nightmares, wondering what day they might stop, always wanting answers but never getting them. I've been plenty patient, waiting for my answers, and now that I'm here I don't understand why I have to wait any longer."

I saw something in his eyes, almost a look of understanding as he stood from his chair and moved closer to me. I wasn't afraid of him as he did this, and watched as he kneeled down in front of me and took my hand, "I'm sorry, Lady Avery, for everything that's happened to you and for everything that will happen. I wish I had no part of this, but I have no choice. My bonds here are far more extreme than yours, and I wish that wasn't case. I wish I could save you, because it's truly not fair, but I can't."

"Save me from what?"

"Jareth." He said that name and without any further explanation I knew he was referring to. Jareth was the king, the Goblin King.


	6. Chapter Six

Eevan woke me up the next morning, just as the sun was rising and the light filled the room. I had slept in my clothes and Eevan again insisted I change into the new gown he brought for me, but I still refused. He had also brought me breakfast; an assortment of fruit and boiled eggs. I ate at the small table by the window, Eevan stood at the door in silence as I did. Once I was done he insisted I followed him, assuring me someone would come to clean up the dishes.

I paid close attention to the way he took through the palace, knowing it was better to familiarize myself with my surroundings. We traveled up a few flights of stairs, and Eevan led me to a room with two large double doors, painted with a lovely rose pattern. "This, Lady Avery, is your new room." He opened the doors for me, and I walked inside and was absolutely speechless. Everything about this palace I had seen was so bare and boring, everything except this room. There was silk curtains covered the large windows and a beautiful bed with a canopy hanging from the ceiling surrounding it. There were bookshelves completely stocked as well as a large study desk with an adorable purple armchair. A large wardrobe in the corner neat a vanity completely stocked with makeup and perfume. There were fine paintings hanging on the wall and the sweet smell of fresh lavender in the air. There were three-branched candelabrum's one each nightstand table near the bed, as well as a beautiful candle lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was all absolutely stunning.

"I hope you like it Lady Avery, I spent the entire night decorating it hoping it would be satisfactory." Eevan informed me as he stepped into the room after me.

"You did all this?" I looked at him with such shock and disbelief in my eyes. He nodded simply, keeping his eyes on his feet. "Eevan, it's beautiful."

He looked up at me, relief lining his expression as I said this. "I'm glad you like it then. If you'd like I can show you where you can freshen up, and I can take you out for a tour of the city." He seemed to have a certain sense of excitement about him now, I could tell it wasn't every day he received compliments. Even though I didn't really want to go out and see the city, I couldn't say no to him and nodded in a silent agreement as he led me from my new room.

The tub in the "bath room" was rather large and underneath was a small fire put Eevan used to heat the water. He stayed in the bath room with me, but set up a large standing screen in between us so I could have some privacy. "We don't really use things like shampoo and body wash here like you do in your world. We bathe and have similar products, but nothing like those. I did my best to create a few things close to them though, so you'd feel more at home." He informed me as I striped my clothes from my body as took note of all the decorated bottles setting on the little table near the tub as I got into the warm water.

"You really didn't have to go through all that trouble." I told him as I examined each bottle and smelled them all.

"It's not really like I had much of anything else to do." He answered me back simply as I started to wash my hair with a lovely honey smelling concoction.

Once I was all clean and dried off, Eevan gave me a robe to wear for our walk back to my room. He sat me down at my vanity and brushed out my hair and braided it for me. He then did my makeup and picked me out a casual gown to wear out to see the city. I was still hesitant about wearing it, but did as he wished because quite frankly he looked so excited about it.

We left the palace grounds, our arms linked together as he began to show me around. He showed me the armory, the blacksmith, the stables were strange creatures used for riding were kept, the bakery, the market, the tailor, the cobbler, everything you'd expect to see. And then we reached the gates.

"These are the great gates to the Goblin City, only one person has ever been known to breach these gates." Eevan informed me as we looked at the structure.

"Who?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Your sister." He answered me bluntly.

I turned to Eevan with a look of absolute shock, but at the same time understanding. "Sarah's been here?" I asked if I couldn't believe it, but yet it seemed to make perfect sense once I actually thought about it. "When?"

"It is not my story to tell Lady Avery." He sighed as he took my arm and lead me away, but my eyes linger on the gates as I let the thought sink in.

"It's almost time for dinner." Eevan commented as we reached my room back at the palace. I hadn't even realized how long when had been out in the city until I looked out my windows and saw the sun setting. "Change into this." He instructed me, pulling a more extravagant gown from my wardrobe, "King Jareth will want you to join him."

"Will you be there too?" I asked him as I took the gown from his hands. He shook his hand and I felt a sense of disappointment; something about having Eevan around made me feel less uneasy. Seeing the goblins for the first time should have been a much more nerve wrecking experience for me, but with Eevan there it felt very tolerable. I could only imagine how much ease he'd bring him during a dinner with Jareth.

I stepped behind a screen to change and when I was done Eevan insisted I wear a red lipstick to match the gown before he escorted me to the dining hall. When we arrived, the candles were all lit and shined brilliantly, but there was no Jareth. "I thought you said he'd be here." I commented simply.

"He will be. He likes to make an entrance. I need to be on my way, I'll come to your room tonight before you go to bed. Enjoy your dinner Lady Avery." Before I really even had a chance to ask him to wait, Eevan left me alone in the dining hall in a single blink.

I sighed and walked across the room, looking across the table decorated in flowers and silver candles sticks next to fine pieces of dining ware. "Red looks lovely on you." I heard Jareth's voice from behind me, directly behind me. I made a sharp turn on my heel and almost fell over when I realized just how close he was, but of course he reached for me and caught me, helping me regain my balance. "Did I startle you?"

I said nothing to him, simply backed away and out of his hold as I turned my eyes back to the table. "Do you make it a habit to sneak up on people?"

"Not a habit, but it does seem to be a common reoccurrence." He informed me as he moved to a chair near where I standing and pulled it out for me to sit. I looked at him, not totally trusting him with a feeling almost as if he'd pull the seat from under me when I tried to sit. Defeated by my stubbornness, he walked away from the chair and took his own seat across the table, which was when I then took mine.

"Jareth, right?" I finally acknowledged him by name.

"Have I not introduced myself?" He seemed shocked at himself upon this realization, and I only nodded to confirm. "How rude of me. Well, M'Lady, I am Jareth, King of the Goblin City and the Labyrinth."

"The Labyrinth…" I repeated as I recalled the large stone walls I had seen outside my window the night before.

"I could show it to you sometimes, tomorrow perhaps?" Jareth insisted just as the doors of the dining hall opened and a tall, lanky looking goblin with long silvery hair walked in with a rolling cart with two plates of food on it that he presented to both of us before taking his silent leave.

I looked down at the plate, it all seemed rather normal enough, not the sort of odd cuisine I was expecting. I returned my attention back to Jareth as he took a glass a wine from in front of him and sipped it in silence, his eyes also on me. "Actually, I was hoping you could tell me more about my sister."

His face went blank; his eyes clouded as he shifted his gaze down at the table and set his glass back in front of him. "Eevan told you she was here?"

"Should he not have?"

"What else did he tell you?"

"What else is there to know?"

Jareth's eyes turned back to face me now with a certain look of fury. "All those questions, everything you wish to know, will be yours to learn in time. Nothing will be revealed to before you are ready. If you wish to remain happy here, I suggest you abide by that rule or else there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

I glared at him with such a look of fury; I couldn't even stand it anymore. "I've seemed to have lost my appetite." I stood from my chair, turning my eyes away from him, "If you would excuse me, I'm going to bed." I did not give him a chance to object, or even say goodnight, I simply took my leave from my dining hall and quickly returned to the safety and comfort of my room.

The thought that Sarah had been her before gave me such an odd sense of fear to come to understand. Why had she kept it from me all these years? Had she known my nightmares and this place were connected? She must have known, but why had she never told me? And Toby…Toby had the same nightmares. Had he been here before too? It was so much to take in, so much to process. It made me tremble with such a terrible sense of uncertainty and fear. Is that why they apologized to me? Did they know I was to come here? What part did they play in all this? I didn't want to be patient and wait for tha answers, I wanted to know now.


End file.
